Dim City Lights
by rejected senpai
Summary: Waking up in the same room for two entire years, she hoped for a change. She was in a world where almost nothing changes. Scars were embedded on her back and bruises decorated chest and thighs. She merely wanted an escape, nothing more, nothing less. And one day, she got it. (the rest of the description is on my wattpad)
1. Chapter 1: Unlocked

The sky held its blue color as the sun rested high above. A man dressed in plain clothes walked aside his daughter, surrounded by trees and land. He watched with admiration as his daughter skipped along the dirt road. With a smile on her face, the pink-haired daughter hopped and skidded around, her short hair waving. The child was humming a tune.

The man smiled at his daughter's happiness. Unlike him, she had a bubbly personality and always had a smile. She was eccentric, and usually laughed everything off like the child she was.

The wind blew and the trees swayed violently. The little girl nearly was knocked off her feet when the wind blew toward her. Before she could call her father, a voice began to sing.

"Papa?"

The voice of the singer was male, making her turn to her father. When she looked at his lips, she found that he was the one not singing.

"ゆらゆら 揺らめく 波の間に ~"

The insects went silent and the trees's swaying to a stop. The girl stopped moving, looking towards the direction where the wind came from.

Her facial expression was unreadable.

"きらきら 輝く 声はただ揺れ 彼方へと~"

"..Their voices drift into the distance..."

"Papa, can you hear that?" she asked in a low voice, almost in a whisper. She didn't turn to see him. She hoped for reassurance from her father, but he merely replied after a few seconds.

"I don't hear anything. What do you hear, dear?" he replied back, holding his hand out for her.

She frowned, but soon after she brushed it off and grabbed her father's hand, smiling. She had hoped to hear that she wasn't the only one hearing such a beautiful song, but she was disappointed.

"Can't you hear the song, Papa?"

Kura Ume, now 18 years old, shot open where eyes to find herself in a small room. There were bags under her eyes, signifying how much sleep she got. Her hair was disheveled and outgrown, since it hasn't been cut in years. Scars and cuts covered her back, with the more new ones slightly red with pain.. Light embraced her skin from a boarded window.

Music from the stereo played quietly as she stretched and went to her closet. When she opened it, it revealed several outfits: dresses, shirts, skirts, plants, and others. On the side hanging was a plentiful amount of purses and bags. As you hear this, you'd expect she would be living a dream, right?

No, it's the complete opposite.

She was captured and locked inside this small room. It's been two years of the same surroundings and the same activities. When she first awoke in this room, the familiar white paint on the walls made her thought she was home. The bathroom was on the left of the room and the large closet was near the door. This was the same layout as her room, so it should be her home, right?

It was when she found one singular window. The only window in this room was boarded up with metal. Instead of the several windows, she found only one.

It struck to her as odd so she tried to leave the room. But to her surprise, the door was locked. When she peered through the keyhole, she found that the hallway was unusually old and cracked.

This wasn't her home.

She picked out a light brown romper with a white flower designed on it. Finding a dark red wristband and scarf that matched with pink and yellow sparkles, she found herself wearing them. She glanced at the mirror and clipped on her beloved gray clip and put on her small golden hoop earrings that she treasured dearly. She didn't understand why she loved them so, but she shrugged it off as them being attractive. After slipping on some grey slip-ons, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

"Miss Kura, are you up?" a lady, who she referred to as Silvia because of her silver hair, asked. She jumped when she heard her name called, relieved that it was only her.

"Yeah, Silvia, I'm up and dressed. You can come in."

And with that, a lady around the age of 40 opened the door and revealed a plate of eggs, that was slightly covered in pepper and salt.

"Oh... breakfast." she murmured, "Thank you." She wasn't the least hungry and wished for a drink instead. Silvia placed the plate onto her table, covered with art supplies and books.

"Silvia, may I have a drink of Thai tea with this?" Kura was craving something nice and cold, just like the morning that was rolling by.

"Anything you want, m'lady. Would you want it iced or hot?"

"Iced, please."

Kura sat down in her chair and grabbed the silverware, beginning to eat. She heard the door close shut and the sound of keys jingling. She stared at her breakfast in a daze. She began eating.

A few minutes later, Silvia opened the door again, carrying the soft orange drink. By then, the pain in her stomach had ceased. She thanked her and went back to eating her breakfast, the music in the background filling the silent room. Kura sighed exhaustedly and looked outside the window.

It was when she didn't hear it, everything changed.

The normal sounds of the keys jingling and the sound of the door being locked wasn't present as Silvia left the room. She sat up quietly and checked to see if the door was unlocked.

It was unlocked.

Her ocean eyes widened in surprise and her heartbeats fastened.

= {A/N}

Hello everyone and welcome back to Dramatical Murder!


	2. chapter 2: Wonders

Kura scrambled to write down words on a piece of paper on her desk. Freedom was just within her fingertips and she needed to be prepared. But she couldn't just leave without saying goodbye. Though she was captured, she was never tortured or beaten. By Silvia, that is. Instead, she was treated like a princess by her. She was never referred as a burden or a cruel word. She was just referred as "m'lady", "mistress", or "Miss Kura".

And she was thankful for that.

After jotting down the letter, grabbed a brown leather handbag designed to look like a hamster of some sort and had a bandaged cheek as a pocket from the closet and hung it around her shoulder. Kura placed a small book about rehabilitate and healing in her bag and the white handkerchief Silvia made for her. The clock displayed the time as 8:51. She had only a few more minutes until Silvia would check on her.

The drawings that she drew decorated the walls in this small room and the smell of lavender would be gone the second she walked out of the room.

Taking a deep breath, she held onto the strap on her bag and opened the wooden door. She was surprised when she found that the old, cracked hallway that she saw on the first day wasn't there. Instead was a clean, wooden planks and soft white carpet.

Kura glanced back at her room. Maybe this was the day where she got back her freedom once and for all.

As she stepped out of the room, the smell of cinnamon infused in her nose. Everything felt so different, and she loved it. The door shut quietly behind her and she walked silently around the house. She suspected that Silvia was maybe out, but she couldn't be so sure.

Surprisingly, the entrance was an easy find. The door was made out of colored glass and there were tinted glass on the side. It was nerve-wreaking to find that inside her small room was a much fancier place.

With a creak, the door opened. Her eyes closed as she breathed in the smell of wood and wet grass. Then Kura heard a creak from the hallway. She turned to see a small robot. She hasn't been caught yet. She walked out slowly and as quiet as she could.

The door was left open and as soon as Kura got far enough to the point where she couldn't be seen, she ran. She ran as fast as she could to wherever she thought was right. Even with the cold air burning her sensitive nose, she smiled. She won't ever be returning back to that room anymore.

But where would she go now? It would be a such a lie if I told you she had a great sense of direction. So, she just wondered and wondered. Every step she took was farther away from the home she didn't want to be in, so she didn't mind so much.

With the chirping of the birds and the sounds of the swooshing leaves, Kura believed that she'd be closer to a town or even a city. The sound of the trees swaying gave her a familiar feeling, but she couldn't quite get what she was thinking of.

Kura was surprised when she suddenly found herself in a city. She wondered around in, what she assumed, to be a plaza. As she strolled around, she found that people looked at her uneasily.

'Why are they looking at me like that?' she thought as she rubbed her arm nervously under their stares. Under their stares, she felt her face get red.

Feeling incredibly uncomfortable, she staggered into an alleyway, breathing raggedly.

'Come on, Kura. What's your problem? All they were doing were staring. They weren't doing anything wrong.' she thought to herself.

The sun was low and she felt alone. She wanted to walk and explore some more, but she was scared of everyone. Who were these people and why were they staring at her?

She hugged her knees and closed her eyes to listen to the sound of footsteps and the voices that passed by. She felt her eyes getting droopy and she began nodding off.

Just then, she heard footsteps were leading to her.

"W-Who's there!?" Kura's quick response wasn't answered. Well, it was answered, in a way.

The footsteps stopped and she saw white boots. As she observed the clothing, she was confused when she saw a doctor's coat.

'Is this person a doctor?'

But, oh god, she was surprised when she found what he had on his face.

A fucking gas mask.

Not a surgical mask, but a damn gas mask out of all things.

"W-What the--"

"It's nice to meet you! My name's Clear!" he bowed quickly and, as if she could see through the mask, she could sense that he was smiling.

'Clear? That's an odd name.'

Nevertheless, a name was a name, Kura thought.

She didn't stand up, but just sat there. She felt scared and wanted to run away, but the tone of his voice was so sincere and compelling that she decided to just stay.

"...Why are you talking to me?" Kura asked in a quiet tone. It was odd to her that a man like him would talk to a woman sulking in a dark and cold alleyway.

He just tilted his head in confusion. "Why wouldn't I talk to you? Is there something wrong with talking to whomever I want to?"

His response was a strange one alright. She just looked back up and stared at him. 'He even used the term "whomever"...'

She felt her head get hazy. That's when he spoke up.

"..You know you're bleeding, right?" he asked.

"What?" she replied hastily, "Where?"

He pointed to the opened wound on her right leg and the cut on her left arm. She looked and felt her heart sank as blood seeped through the cuts.

'Blood..?'

"I-I'm sorry--" she stuttered as she got up, feeling ashamed, "I'll get going and--"

"Come with me. I'll get you fixed up." he said, sounding sincere. Kura shook her head, feeling like a bother now. How could she have not noticed it? It's such bad wounds, too.

"I'm probably just going to become a bother.."

Clear insisted he knew a nurse by the name of Tae, which somehow sparked something within the her. The name seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember why it was so.

Then, she heard a small voice in her head.

The voice was distorted and weak, and it sounded like it was in pain. It spoke softly and what it said stunned her, her whole body suddenly collapsing from exhaustion.

"Destroy her completely like what you did to Silvia. It's what you do best anyways."

"Are you okay, Miss!?" Clear jumped, holding onto her shoulders and holding her in his arms. She felt his warm hands and felt safe in his arms. Her whole body became unusually fragile.

"I-I'm sorry, Clear, but I think I'll have to... take your offer."

={A/N}

Are you guys happy that I introduced our jellyfish bby so early in the book?

-v-


	3. chapter 3: Waking up

When Kura awoke a few hours later, she found the texture of a cushion embracing her back and a soft cotton blanket on her. She was on someone's bed. And from the feeling of it, her left leg had cotton pressed against the cut, along with the cut on her right arm.

As she was about to open her eyes when she heard the door to the side of her open.

"Granny, where do you think she got those wounds?" a man with a strange voice asked. She noted how feminine he sounded, not as much a Clear though.

"Shut up and talk lower, Aoba! She's trying to rest!" an old lady's voice shouted, "It looks like it was scratched open by a sharp object, so be quiet!"

Kura wondered if it would be a good time to wake up, but she was scared of them. Who were these people and where was Clear?

She shot up and grabbed whoever she grabbed, and held him in a chokehold. Feeling a sudden pain in her legs and arm, her body began to ache. She found that she was in a small room.

"Hey, what are you doing--?!" the man, who she believed was named Aoba, yelled in shock. She didn't want to hurt him, but she just wanted to get information about this place. She didn't even know what she was doing and she was scared of what they were going to do to her.

"You shouldn't move around so much!You're wounded!" the old lady said with concern. Kura was slightly startled by her exclamations, causing her to face an old lady who had pink hair that's divided into four parts and being held up by decorative sticks. She wore a cream colored dress with a belt around her waist. Her sky blue eyes meet Kira's, causing her to shake.

As she could tell, she didn't want to hurt him by the way Kura's arm was shaking.

"W-Why am I here?" Kura spouted out shakily at the lady, "Where is this place?" Tears were escaping her eyes, and she was regretting for ever escaping her home. If she hadn't left, she wouldn't have gotten these stupid wounds because of her clumsy self.

"Calm down, my dear, and I'll explain to you where this is." she said, "I don't want anyone else getting hurt." Yuuka was shaking uncontrollably and was scared. She didn't want to show it, but it showed, nevertheless.

She let go of Aoba, and he stepped away from her, catching his breath. Kura wiped away her tears and took in deep breaths as she sat down on the bed. He was in shock of what just happened, but he knew she wouldn't hurt him too bad despite how strangely strong she was. She was shaking so much and Aoba could tell she was frightened.

"Have you calmed down a bit?" she asked as her breathing gradually calmed, wrapping the blanket that fell on the ground when she got up. Kura nodded after a few seconds.

"I-I'm sorry, but can I get a cup of water, m'am?" asked Kura, getting up, her legs shaking.

"You're not leaving that bed, young lady. Those wounds of yours still need to heal and I can't have you walking around in pain."

"But--"

"I'll have my grandson get the cup of water, okay, dear?"

Not knowing how to respond, she just thanked her and Aoba as he left the room. When he exited out of the room, she spoke.

"You're staying in this home and it's final. I don't want you hurting yourself even more." Tae said kindly. As much as Yuuka felt ashamed, she felt even worse by her kind offer.

"..Thank you." She bowed, feeling a sting of pain in her leg.

"Oh, how rude of me. I haven't introduced me or my grandson," Tae spoke, "My name is Tae and the man who just went to get your cup of water was Aoba."

"It's nice to meet you, Tae." Kura said, bowing her head.

"I'm a nurse so your wounds are in good hands. Just be sure to take care of yourself in the future." Tae said softly, "You're a lady, after all."

She smiled gently upon those words and thanked her again.

"We are living in Midorijima currently, a island in Japan. Before your awakening, I cleaned and sewn up your cuts." Tae said, "You're a deep sleeper, aren't you? I'm surprised that you didn't wake up when I had to clean your cuts with alcohol."

She was confused when she heard that she was a deep sleeper. Usually any creak or noise would wake her up, so sleeping through the entire cleaning process of cuts was strange. Just before she was going to speak, Aoba walked in with the cup of water. As he passed the cup to Kura, she spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, Aoba, and thank you for the water." Kura said, bowing to him.

"Oh, it's no problem." he replied, smiling. He was glad that she had a sense of courtesy when speaking. "Do you remember anything about yourself?" Aoba asked.

Kura nodded, feeling safe with them, and went on to explain herself. "My name is Kura Ume and I'm 19 years old and I'm born on August 13th. On the night of my 16th birthday, I got captured."

"What do you mean you got captured?" Aoba asked.

"Well... The woman broke into my room and captured me? I'm pretty sure that happened because once I woke up, I was in a different room. After I had figured out I wasn't home, a lady came into my room and said she was my new caretaker. I'm... not really sure what happened, but that's how I think it went out. Along with the new lady, who I called Silvia, was her husband. Silvia was a nice lady. Her husband, however... he was a different story."

Kura trailed off. When she went quiet, Tae and Aoba glanced at each other pitifully.

"Was he abusive?" Tae asked carefully.

"..Yeah, he was. He used to beat me almost everyday. It was worse when he was drunk, which was probably once every week. After he'd hit me, his wife would always come afterwards to treat my wounds. She was... kind of like my father. But she was much more quiet than my dad which made it difficult to start a conversation."

'But I don't see much wounds on her legs or arms. Rather, I just see bruises.' Tae thought, 'Are they on her back?'

Aoba's expression darkened as he heard about him. "Those wounds.. are they from him?"

"..Oh. I'm not sure how I got them." Kura said as she lifted her arm to look at the wound covered with cotton, "I think it was when I ran away and had to go through some bushes. I'm really quite careless."

She laughed heartily because she knew it was true. She couldn't deny that she was a careless person, so the wounds she got was normal to her. Tae looked sympathetically towards her, but Kura merely gave her a comforting smile. Aoba was stunned. This was the same person that tried to attack him earlier.

"You should probably get some more rest so your wounds could heal." Tae said as she walked out of the room, "She'll be sleeping in your room, Aoba."

Aoba nodded and turned to Kura with a smile. "Since you're already in my room, do you need anything?

"..Where are you going to sleep?" Kura asked, "I don't want you to sleeping uncomfortably."

"I have a futon stored somewhere in my closet, so don't worry. I'll be fine." Aoba replied, "You should be more worried about yourself since you're injured."

Kura looked down to the wooden floor and frowned. She didn't really care what happened to her. Even if she was injured, she was fine. Her body was just sore, that was it.

={A/N}

I wonder who's going to be introduced in the next chapter?

*COUGH*

*COUGH*

*BROWN HAIRED LOSER*

*IM NOT TELLING WHICH ONE*

*COUGH*


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